What do you think of Magnaflow's catback exhaust system?

Double Tap said:

I've been waiting to post a review of mine after I've had it a bit longer, but here's a brief summary...

I received my Magnaflow exhaust about two weeks ago and installed it the day after it arrived. Like you I was looking at the Borla as well, however all of the sound clips I'd heard online indicated that the sound was fairly similar between the two kits. Given that I have owned several Magnaflow cat-back kits for Mustangs in the past, I was comfortable with the typical build quality from Magnaflow. Also given that I was able to order the Magnaflow kit for a hair under $500 shipped to my door compared to roughly $1000 for the Borla kit, it became a pretty easy decision.

Installation of the Magnaflow kit was pretty straight forward. The only snag was that the bayonet hanger on the section that runs from the muffler to the tips was about 1" too long. I had to gradually shorten it with an angle grinder until I could slip the OEM rubber hanger between the end of the bayonet and the exhaust tubing itself.

It's kind of hard to explain this in writing so I'll try to post a more formal review with photos later. Suffice it to say that it was a little aggravating but not a show-stopper. I suspect it's just bad quality control on Magnaflow's part and that many folks will never have the same problem. So long as you or the shop doing the installation has a decent selection of tools and the installer uses some common sense, this sort of snag is easy to work around.

Other than that one minor issue, I had no other problems installing the kit. The build quality is excellent and the new double-walled rolled tips are a vast improvement over the old style tips that I'd seen in other installation photos. I'm not sure when Magnaflow started using the new tips but they look great; much like the tips on the Borla kit.

Sound quality is excellent as well. Deep and throaty at idle and capable of really letting a roar out when you tip into throttle. On the 2011 6.2L model like mine, we have the in-line resonator ahead of the muffler. That really helps keep the drone to a bare minimum, although you still get a good amount of natural -- and expected -- resonance inside the cabin from the louder exhaust. Honestly, if you don't want a little extra cabin noise, you wouldn't be swapping exhaust kits right?

All told, I am very pleased with the purchase. The Magnaflow kit looks great, sounds great, fits great save for the one minor snag I detailed above and it cost 50% less than the Borla kit.



Edited to add: I found mine on eBay for about $100 less than the best price I could find from other vendors. The seller I used had an extremely good feedback rating with a high number of positive sales to his credit. Here's his profile.

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JP7 said:

Atticus - have a look at this thread. My stock one is the first vid, and my Magnapack is the 9th (and 10th) videos on it. Video 11 is what sold me on it.
I paid $114.00 for the single muffler and another $100 to have it installed (welded) which included straight pipe up to the cat so I could bolt on the OEM system again if required.
I love it, although it's loud for talking on the phone - but hell, loud pipes save lives.
I have no tune or fancy shit - and could care less about mileage or HP gains with it - I just love the sound.

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Maxx2893 said:

I have the magnapack as well and love the tone. It's down right nasty.

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